£10.7m road investment...will come at a cost to motorists

Major new project to start in February, a month after Boundary Road closes again

William Walker

william.walker@newburynews.co.uk

Contact:

01635 886641

A new £10.7million road improvement project on the A339 through Newbury has been unveiled by West Berkshire Council - and the traffic mayhem could start as early as February.

The good news for motorists is that the three-year programme will see many junctions improved; the bad news is that the start of the works will coincide with the renewed closure of Boundary Road for a further 12 months to accommodate Network Rail works.

At a media briefing held at the council offices in Newbury on Thursday, senior planning officers gave an overview of the planned works over the next three years.

Beginning in February, work will commence on a new road junction linking the A339 with the London Road Industrial Estate, lasting for nine months, with lane closures in effect for the start of the works.

The council has also highlighted widening of the Robin Hood junctions as part of the three-year programme, particularly outside the fire station which the council refer to as a known bottleneck.

A number of other key structures including the River Kennet Bridge and Kings Road subways are also earmarked in the scheme for maintenance or improvement work.

Executive member for highways and transport Garth Simpson said of the programme: “This is a busy but an exciting period for Newbury as there is a lot of time, effort and money going into improving roads in the town.

“We will be left with an improved road network, which will leave the town in a strong position for future investment and improve journeys for our road users.”

For more details and reaction pick up a copy of this week’s Newbury Weekly News on sale Thursday.

What do you think of the plan? Is it short term pain for long term gain? Or is the council not thinking radically enough? Get in touch via william.walker@newburynews.co.uk

Air pollution in parts of Newbury is already at toxic and illegal levels. What is needed is a more intelligent approach to traffic reduction, with new developments designed to take traffic away from the town centre and the A 339 in particular. We have a number of residents living on or near congested junctions, and several schools in close proximity to polluting highways. The A343 is a walking route for 4 of our main schools and is full of idling traffic at certain times of day, some of which is backing up from the 339. The planning authority should be taking a robust approach to newbuild in Newbury if there is no proper green travel strategy.

By the time all these so called 'improvements' are completed, Newbury will be a ghost town anyway, as everyone will try to avoid it because of the chaos. Of course, then the congestion will be reduced so the 'powers that be' will proclaim it a success!